ERFURT, er'foort, Germany, (1) town in the Prussian province of Saxony, formerly the capital of Thuringia, and a fortress till 1873, situated on the river Gera, about 13 miles west of Weimar. In the 15th and 16th cen turies Erfurt was a flourishing commerical and manufacturing place, but its university made it one of the most famous of German cities. The university, established in 1378, was suppressed in 1816. Its trade and manufactures have rapidly increased in recent times along with its population. The most characteristic industry is that of flower-growing, plants and seed being exported in enormous quantities to almost all parts of the world. The most important edifice is the cathedral. The large bell called Maria gloriosa, made of the finest bell-metal and weighing 275 hundredweight, hangs in one of the towers. The cell in which Luther lived while an Augustinian monk, from 1505 to 1512, containing his Bible, portrait, etc., was in the Martinsstift or orphan-house into which the old Augustinian convent had been converted, but was destroyed by fire, along with the relics of Luther, in 1872. According to tradition Erfurt
was founded as early as the 6th century, by a certain Erpes. It was not a free Imperial city, but always maintained a sort of independence. Saint Boniface established here an episcopal see. In 1483 it concluded a treaty with Saxony, by which it agreed to pay an annual sum for pro tection. In the 17th century the Elector of Mainz obtained possession of it. The Congress of Erfurt (September-October 1808) was at tended by Napoleon, Alexander of Russia, and many German sovereigns. In 1813 the town was taken by the Prussians, after a severe bom bardment. In 1814 it was granted to Prussia by the Congress of Vienna. Pop. 111,463. (2) The government of Erfurt of which it is the capital has an area of 1,364 square miles. Pop. 530,775.
ERG (Gr. (workl), in physics, the unit of work in t e centimeter-gram-second system. It is the work done in overcoming a force of one dyne, through a distance of one centimeter. See UNITS OF MEASUREMENT.